The Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Ethnic Minorities

The Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Ethnic Minorities

7.5 credits

7.5 credits

Spring semester 2019

This course addresses the human rights of indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities, taking up contemporary tensions such as religious, social and political conditions, tensions between national sovereignty and collective and individual rights, as well as questions of identity. Significant emphasis is placed on the arguments that have been asserted by actual minority groups on these issues.

At the end of the course, the student is expected to

show a good understanding of how indigenous peoples as well as the rights of ethnic and national minorities are defined in international law

show a basic understanding of the theoretical framework that defines how these rights relate to the nation-state and to democracy

demonstrate independent thinking and competence in undertaking research on indigenous peoples’ relationship to majority populations and cultural frameworks.